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Distinguished Member

Friends,
What are the best books on poker? I'm shopping for a gift and would like some suggestions. Memoirs, histories, and novels would be just as interesting as books on strategy (and maybe moreso).
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Rand is to philosophy what L. Ron Hubbard is to religion and Lyndon Larouche is to politics.

Senior Member

Can't go wrong with the Bible of poker-Doyle Brunson's Super System. Phil Helmuth has a couple of books, never read them but I hear some good, some bad. Chris Moneymaker {shudder} has a memoir/strategy book out too. Pretty much all the big name players have some sort of strategy manual or memoir out.

Distinguished Member

a fun novel to read is &quot;Bringing Down the House&quot; by...Ben Mezrich (?). it's the story of the MIT blackjack club's adventures in las vegas and other locales. they basically had a card-counting system for beating blackjack, it's fun to read about how they did it, and how it enraged the casinos.

/andrew

Yet he who grasps the moment's gift,
He is the proper man.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust (I, 4, 494)

Senior Member

For the true beginner, try Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Helmuth. The advice is good beginner advice. One you start playing a lot, throw the book away and move up to more advanced books with better strategy and tips (i.e either Super System I or II, Theory of Poker, Caro's Book of Poker Tells, etc.)&gt; I also enjoyed the Tao of Poker and the Zen of Poker - both fun reads.

Member

For the true beginner, try Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Helmuth. The advice is good beginner advice. One you start playing a lot, throw the book away and move up to more advanced books with better strategy and tips (i.e either Super System I or II, Theory of Poker, Caro's Book of Poker Tells, etc.)&gt; I also enjoyed the Tao of Poker and the Zen of Poker - both fun reads.

Senior Member

Senior Member

My personal opinion is that none of the books listed above are practical for beginner or intermediate players other than Lee Jones' book on low-limit holdem.

My suggestion as a gift, and for any player, is to couple the purchase of Lee Jones' book along with a copy of Texas Turbo Holdem by Wilson Software. You may download a free sample version at http://wilsonsoftware.com/ I have been using their 7-Card Stud and Holdem software for years. By reading the book and practicing with the software, one can become a very deadly player. I will typically warm up in my hotel room with the Wilson simulator before I hit the tables. My winnings are consistently positive.

While I do enjoy Las Vegas for poker play, the true poker capital of the world is Los Angeles, to what is commonly referred to as the Gardena area card rooms.

Well-Known Member

Can't go wrong with the Bible of poker-Doyle Brunson's Super System.
Agreed. Don't know if it's really for stark beginners, but basically everything you need to know about hold 'em anyway. Just don't accidentally his book about poker anecdotes where he just tells stories from his life of playing cards. It's interesting, but not informative, as such.

Faustian, I read that book when I was going through my BJ period. Got all fired up and almost convinced enough friends to join me!!! I can only imagine! LOL.

Distinguished Member

Not only an interesting treatise on poker strategy but an amazingly interesting story by a former spy and codebreaker during WWII. It was written in the 1950's and I recommend it more for the entertainment value than as a real guide to poker playing.

Senior Member

The Education of a Poker Player by Herbert O. Yardley Not only an interesting treatise on poker strategy but an amazingly interesting story by a former spy and codebreaker during WWII. It was written in the 1950's and I recommend it more for the entertainment value than as a real guide to poker playing.
Sounds very interesting. I was unware of the title, so will now add it to my reading list. Thanks, M8

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